Bath Time
Categories: Parenting & Families , Children's Books
"My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain, and I had to wear my railroad train pajamas. I hate my railroad train pajamas."--Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
Poor Alexander. This sounds exactly like bath night at our house: always some sort of calamity. Just getting everyone upstairs is a struggle. Usually it goes something like this: my daughter races upstairs, takes off all her clothes and runs around the house, naked and screaming. The boys crawl up the stairs, one veers left into our bedroom (to torture the poor dog), the other veers right into his sister's bedroom (to play with the electrical outlets that he has learned to take the child safety devices out of).
Once everyone is in the tub, we commence washing. Or, I should say, soaking the room with as much water as possible. I'm not sure how much actual washing is done. Soon the calamities start: the bath is too hot. Someone gets soap in their eyes. Someone else falls out of the tub. Then, there's the inevitable questions about "private parts". My daughter: "mommy, why do boys have peanuts?" (her term for a certain part of the male anatomy). Quickly followed by: "mommy, why are the boys always messing with their peanuts?" Ack!
If your children (like mine), seem to be quite, ahem, interested in certain body parts, you might want to check out Gail Saltz's Amazing You or Robie H. Harris's It's Not the Stork! I've also compiled a list of some of my favorite bath time books. Enjoy!
- Estelle Takes a Bath--Jill Esbaum
- Kid Tea--Elizabeth Ficocelli
- Little Bunny's Bathtime--Jane Johnson
- Bath Time--Eileen Spinelli
- Rabbit Ears--Amber Stewart
- King Bidgood's in the Bathtub--Audrey Wood
